Deputy President of South Africa

The deputy president of South Africa is the second highest ranking officer of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. The deputy president is a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet.

The deputy president is constitutionally required to "assist the president in the execution of the functions of government", and may be assigned any government portfolio by presidential proclamation.

The deputy president performs the duties of the president when the president is outside the country's borders, unable to fulfill the duties of the office, or when the presidency is vacant.

The deputy president is generally appointed as the leader of government business in the Parliament of South Africa by the president.

Under the interim constitution (valid from 1994 to 1996), there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of parliament from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as deputy president. Along with Mbeki, the previous state president, F. W. de Klerk, also served as deputy president in his capacity as the leader of the National Party, then the second-largest party in the new parliament. De Klerk later resigned and went into opposition with his party. A voluntary coalition government continues to exist under the new constitution (adopted in 1996), although there have been no appointments of opposition politicians to the post of deputy president.

The official living residences of the deputy president are Oliver Tambo House in Pretoria, Highstead, in Cape Town and Dr John L Dube House in Durban.

Inception and expiry of term

The deputy president's term of office is not fixed by law. The deputy president's term begins upon appointment by the president. The deputy president must be selected from the members of the National Assembly and takes a prescribed oath.

The deputy president's term is ended by one of four constitutional mechanisms: dismissal by the president, a successful 'motion of no confidence in the president' by the National Assembly, a successful 'motion of no confidence excluding the president' by the National Assembly, or a newly elected president's assumption of office. A statement of resignation can also end a deputy president's term of office.

Informal roles

Depending on the extent of any informal roles and functions of the deputy president depend on the specific relationship between the president and deputy president, but often the roles include tasks like:

• Spokesperson for the administration policies
• Adviser to the president

Deputy presidents of South Africa (1994–present)

Parties

  National Party

  African National Congress

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			President	Political party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 1		F. W. de Klerk (1936–2021)	10 May 1994	30 June 1996 (resigned)	Template:Age in years and days	Nelson Mandela	National Party
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 2		Thabo Mbeki (born 1942)	10 May 1994	14 June 1999 (became president)	Template:Age in years and days		African National Congress
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 3		Jacob Zuma (born 1942)	14 June 1999	14 June 2005 (dismissed but became president on 9 May 2009)	Template:Age in years years	Thabo Mbeki
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 4		Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (born 1955)	14 June 2005	23 September 2008 (resigned)	Template:Age in years and days
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 5		Baleka Mbete (born 1949)	25 September 2008	9 May 2009 (term ended)	Template:Age in years and days	Kgalema Motlanthe
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 6		Kgalema Motlanthe (born 1949)	9 May 2009	26 May 2014 (term ended)	Template:Age in years and days	Jacob Zuma
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 7		Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952)	26 May 2014	15 February 2018 (became president)	Template:Age in years and days
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 8		David Mabuza (1960–2025)	27 February 2018	28 February 2023 (resigned)	Template:Age in years and days	Cyril Ramaphosa
style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 9		Paul Mashatile (born 1961)	7 March 2023	Incumbent	Template:Age in years and days

Timeline

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Define $today = 02/08/2026

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 id:np  value:rgb(0.97,0.58,0.11) legend:National_Party
 id:anc value:rgb(0,0.5,0)        legend:African_National_Congress

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 id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1994 till:$today TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1995 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1994

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bar:FWdeKlerk
bar:Mbeki
bar:Zuma
bar:Mlambo-Ngcuka
bar:Mbete
bar:Motlanthe
bar:Ramaphosa
bar:Mabuza
bar:Mashatile

PlotData =

 width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:FWdeKlerk
 from: 10/05/1994 till: 30/06/1996 color:np  text:"F. W. de Klerk"
bar:Mbeki
 from: 10/05/1994 till: 14/06/1999 color:anc text:"Thabo Mbeki"
bar:Zuma
 from: 14/06/1999 till: 14/06/2005 color:anc text:"Jacob Zuma"
bar:Mlambo-Ngcuka
 from: 14/06/2005 till: 23/09/2008 color:anc text:"Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka"
bar:Mbete
 from: 25/09/2008 till: 09/05/2009 color:anc text:"Baleka Mbete"
bar:Motlanthe
 from: 09/05/2009 till: 26/05/2014 color:anc text:"Kgalema Motlanthe"
bar:Ramaphosa
 from: 26/05/2014 till: 15/02/2018 color:anc text:"Cyril Ramaphosa"
bar:Mabuza
 from: 27/02/2018 till: 28/02/2023 color:anc text:"David Mabuza"
bar:Mashatile
 from: 07/03/2023 till: $today     color:anc text:"Paul Mashatile"

</timeline>

See also

• List of current vice presidents
• Vice State President of South Africa
• President of South Africa